Creative Formats & Assets

Callout Assets vs Sitelink Assets: Add a Reason or Add a Link

In short: Both attach directly below a search ad's description, but only one of them can be clicked. Callout assets are short, unclickable phrases that add reasons to trust or choose you - free shipping, 24/7 support - and exist purely to strengthen the pitch before the click. Sitelink assets are clickable links, each pointing to a different page with its own short description, letting one ad serve several intents at once. Callouts make the existing offer look better; sitelinks give the searcher more places to go. Chooser: write callouts for every ad since there's no downside, and invest in sitelinks specifically when your site has multiple pages worth sending different searchers to.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Callout Assets

Short non-clickable phrases appended to a search ad that highlight selling points such as free shipping or same-day service.

Once called callout extensions, they add plain text beneath the description and cannot be clicked, so they exist purely to add qualifying detail before the click happens. Write them as tight, distinct benefits and avoid repeating what the headlines already say. The mistake is padding them with generic claims like great service, which occupies the space without giving anyone a reason to choose you.

Full definition

Sitelink Assets

Extra clickable links shown beneath a search ad, each pointing to a different page and carrying its own short description text.

Formerly called sitelink extensions, these expand the ad's footprint and let one ad serve several intents at once, such as pricing, locations, or a specific product. Google decides how many to show and which ones, based on query and device, so add at least four to qualify for larger layouts. The common mistake is pointing every sitelink at the homepage, which wastes the space.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

	Callout Assets	Sitelink Assets
Can it be clicked	No - plain text, no link.	Yes - each one is its own clickable link.
What it needs to be useful	Just a well-written phrase, nothing else.	A real destination page for each link, ideally not all the same page.
Minimum to serve	None strictly required, but several distinct callouts give Google more to rotate.	At least two, with four or more needed to unlock the larger sitelink layouts.
Character limit	About 25 characters per phrase.	About 25 characters for the link text, plus two description lines up to 35 characters each.
Reporting it generates	None of its own - no separate clicks to measure.	Its own click and conversion data per link, since each is a distinct click destination.
Typical mistake	Generic filler like great service that says nothing distinct.	Every sitelink pointing at the homepage instead of a specific, relevant page.
Effect on the ad	Adds persuasive detail without adding a new place to go.	Adds real estate and lets the ad cover several different searches at once.

What actually separates them.

Sitelinks are clickable destinations with their own reporting; callouts are unclickable text with no reporting of their own.

A sitelink needs a genuinely different, relevant page behind it to be worth adding; a callout needs nothing beyond the phrase itself.

Four or more sitelinks unlocks larger ad layouts, a threshold that has no equivalent for callouts, which just rotate more options as you add them.

Sitelinks let one ad answer several different search intents by sending people to different pages; callouts strengthen a single intent by adding reasons to act on it.

The most common sitelink mistake wastes real estate by duplicating the homepage; the most common callout mistake wastes real estate with generic phrases that say nothing distinct.

Which one should you use?

Use Callout Assets when

You're running any search ad and want to add trust signals without building new pages.
You need to differentiate from a competitor whose headlines look similar to yours.
You want a quick, low-effort addition with essentially no maintenance burden.
Your landing page already covers everything well and you just need the ad to pull harder.

Use Sitelink Assets when

Your site has multiple distinct pages worth sending different searchers to - pricing, locations, specific products.
You want to increase the ad's on-page footprint and qualify for larger ad layouts.
Different segments of your audience are searching the same keyword for different reasons.
You're ready to track click and conversion performance per link, not just per ad.

Common questions.

How many callouts should I add?

Google recommends adding several distinct ones so it has options to rotate, since not every callout shows on every impression, but the real limit is how many genuinely different selling points you have. Padding the list with near-duplicate phrases doesn't add value, it just dilutes the ones that actually differentiate you.

Do I need four sitelinks or can I run with two?

Two is the minimum for sitelinks to show at all, but Google needs four or more to unlock the larger expanded layouts that take up more space on the results page. If you only have two genuinely useful pages to link, running with two is fine - it's better than padding the list with weak destinations just to hit four.

Can callouts and sitelinks run on the same ad?

Yes, they're commonly shown together and Google decides the exact combination per impression based on the query and device. There's no conflict between them since one is text-only and the other is links, so there's little reason not to have both filled in on every active ad.

Or stop choosing between them.

AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.

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